2005 MAZDA RX-8 Complaints

THE CLUTCH PEDAL ON MY 2005 MAZDA RX-8 IS EXTREMELY SQUEAKY AND SEEMS TO BE ON THE VERGE OF BREAKING. WHEN PRESSED DOWN UPON, IT SQUEAKS AND IT ALSO MOVES LEFT AND RIGHT MORE THAN IT SHOULD. I HAVE READ DOZENS OF OTHER REPORTS OF THE CLUTCH PEDAL ACTUALLY SNAPPING AND I AM QUITE WORRIED THAT MY CLUTCH PEDAL IS CLOSE TO BREAKING AS WELL. *TR

MY CLUTCH PEDAL BROKE AGAIN ON MY RX8 (TWICE IN THE SAME YEAR) FOLLOW MY LINK FOR THE STORY, MAZDA NEEDS TO GET THEIR '!@#$% TOGETHER. HTTP://WWW.RX8CLUB.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?P=3262664#POST3262664. *TR

2005 MAZDA RX8: UPON DRIVING I HEARD WHAT SOUNDED LIKE A LOUD CRACK. THE CLUTCH PEDAL ON MY CAR FELT 'LOOSE' AND I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER TO DISCOVER THAT THE WELDS ON MY CLUTCH PEDAL HAD BROKEN. FORTUNATELY I WAS ALMOST HOME BUT I HAD DIFFICULTY SHIFTING AND HAD TO BE CAREFUL AS THE CLUTCH PEDAL WAS MAKING ITS WAY TOWARDS THE BRAKE PEDAL. (IF IT BROKE ANY MORE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT TO APPLY THE BRAKE) THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DISASTROUS UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. *TR

A NEW CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS PURCHASED FROM A MAZDA DEALER IN MAYAGUEZ, PUERTO RICO ON AUGUST 29, 2009. THE SAME WAS PLACED ON THE VEHICLE, A 2005 MAZDA RX-8 SHINKA MODEL, ONE WEEK AFTER THE PURCHASE SINCE WE HAD TO WAIT FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THIS PART AND A NEW SET OF SPARK PLUGS THAT WAS ALSO PURCHASED AT A PRICE OF $200.00. THE CAR WAS NOT IN USE UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER 2009. ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 THE CAR HAD A FAILURE AND I COULD SEE SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE CAR AND THE CAR TURNED OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. I COULD SMELL BURNT PLASTIC AND SAW MELTED PLASTIC COMING BELOW THE CAR. THE DAY ALL THIS HAPPENED, IT WAS RAINING SO THE CAR WAS PROTECTED FROM A FIRE DUE TO THE RAIN. I GOT PICTURES OF SOME OF THE MELTED PARTS. AFTER THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER THEY TOLD ME THAT THE HEAT PRODUCED BY THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER BURNED THE NEW SPARK PLUGS, THE SPARK PLUGS CABLES, THE MODULES AND THAT THERE WAS ASH ON THE SYSTEM THAT NEEDED TO BE CLEANED. THEY DO NOT WANT TO REPLACE ALL THE PARTS THAT BURNED AT THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE FAULTY CATALYTIC CONVERTER SINCE MY CAR GUARANTEE WAS NO LONGER VALID. THEY DID NOT MAKE ANY EFFORTS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM KNOWING THAT ALL THE DAMAGES WERE DUE TO THE FAULTY CONDITION OF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THEY WILL ONLY PROVIDE A NEW CATALYTIC CONVERTER ($1500.00 COST) BUT I HAVE TO PAY ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT FOR THE REST OF THE DAMAGE. I KNEW THAT ANOTHER CLIENT HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A NEW CATALYTIC CONVERTER ON THE SAME MODEL OF CAR AND THAT THE PART WAS ALSO SUPPLIED BY AUTOLAND. I HAVE SEEN ON THE INTERNET OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THESE FAULTY CATALYTIC CONVERTERS. MAZDA SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGES PRODUCED BY THE FAILURE OF THEIR CATALYTIC CONVERTERS. *TR UDATED 01/13/10. *JB

WATER LEAKS INTO THE REAR TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLIES. CORROSION AFFECTS THE OPERATION OF THE TAIL LIGHTS, TURN AND STOP SIGNALS. MAZDAUSA CLAIMS THIS IS "NORMAL". *TR

2005 MAZDA RX8 WITH 53,000 MILES. CLUTCH PEDAL HAS BEEN SQUEAKING FOR THE PAST 8-10K MILES. I COMPLAINED ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS TO MAZDAS SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY DID NOTHING. TODAY MY CLUTCH PEDAL SNAPPED OFF WHILE I WAS DRIVING. MAZDA NEEDS TO USE BETTER WELDING ON THE BRACKET. THE TWO SPOT WELDS DON'T HOLD UP FOR VERY LONG. *TR

I OWN A 2005 MAZDA RX8 WITH 35,000 MILES ON THE CAR. IT HAD TO BE TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP RECENTLY FOR A ROUGH IDLE AND HARD START PROBLEM. AFTER MUCH COSTLY INVESTIGATION (COSTLY TO ME 590$), IT WAS FOUND THAT MY RENESIS ENGINE IS LOSING COMPRESSION AND COULD POSSIBLY FAIL AT ANY MOMENT. AFTER CONTACTING CORPORATE HQ ABOUT THIS PROBLEM THE DEALERSHIP TESTED THE ENGINE WHICH PASSED BY A MINIMAL PERCENT, JUST ENOUGH NOT TO REPLACE THE ENGINE UNDER WARRANTY. AFTER SOME PERSONAL RESEARCH ON THIS MATTER, I'VE FOUND HUNDREDS OF OTHER RX8 OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH LITTLE OR NO HELP FROM MAZDA OTHER THAN REPLACING THE DAMAGED ENGINE WITH THE SAME MODEL OF FAULTY ENGINE. REPORTS FROM OWNERS OF ENGINES DYING IN THE MIDDLE OF DANGEROUS A INTERSECTIONS AND SUCH ARE VERY UNSETTLING BEING AN OWNER MYSELF HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. THERE HAVE BEEN OWNERS THAT ARE NOW ON THEIR SECOND AND THIRD ENGINES AS WELL WITH SEEMINGLY NO END TO THE REPAIRS. IN MY CASE, THE DEALERSHIP GUARANTEED THAT MY ENGINE WOULD FAIL WITHIN SIX MONTHS SO TO "BE CAREFUL" AND "KEEP AND EYE ON IT". THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. OBVIOUSLY THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THESE ENGINES AND I THINK THEY ARE UNSAFE. MAZDA HAS ADDED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY TO THESE ENGINES FOR UP TO 100,000 MILES BUT THAT DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF THESE ENGINES FAILING WHILE IN MOTION OR IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION. IT ONLY REPLACES ONE BURNT OUT BOMB WITH A BOMB WITH A NEW FUSE. I SERIOUSLY THINK THIS SHOULD FALL UNDER THE "LEMON-LAW" AND I WOULD LIKE MORE TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT SEEMS RX8 OWNERS ARE BEING LEFT WITHOUT OPTIONS HERE EXCEPT TO MAKE LEMONADE FROM THEIR 30,000$ LEMON. ME INCLUDED.*TR

CLUTCH ASSEMBLY FAULTY DESIGN. WHILE DRIVING AND SHIFTING GEARS (MANUAL TRANSMISSION) THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY SNAPS, RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF ABILITY TO SHIFT GEARS. I WAS LUCKY AND HAD THIS HAPPEN IN THE PARKING LOT OF MY APARTMENT COMPLEX. I HATE TO THINK WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED HAD I BEEN ON THE HIGHWAY WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR WITH ME. *TR

2005 MAZDA RX8 QUITS RUNNING AND WILL NOT RESTART -REMOVED SPARK PLUGS CLEANED AND STARTED-QUIT BEFORE GOT HOME SAME PROBLEM. DON'T KILL ENGINE UNLESS ABOVE 3000 RPM OR ENGINE IS WARM. ENGINE QUIT REPLACED SPARK COIL QUIT BEFORE GOT HOME WAS TOLD CATALYTIC CONVERTER DEFECTIVE AND WILL DAMAGE MUFFLER. CAR WAS TOWED EACH TIME TO MAZDA DEALERSHIP. NOW THEY CLAIM NEEDS NEW ENGINE. *TR

I HAVE A MAZDA RX8 2005. IT REPEATEDLY STALLS AND HAS NEEDED A NEW ENGINE TWICE IN LESS THAN A YEAR. MAZDA COVERED THE FIRST ENGINE BUT IS NOW REFUSING THE SECOND. I AM AWARE THAT THESE PARTICULAR VEHICLES HAVE MANY PROBLEMS. *TR